4:1-3 Vision Costs

Great Expectations … Ephesians 4-6

4:1-17 The Calling

4:17-32 Higher Calling

5:1-13 God’s Sweet Perfume: Sacrifice

5:15-20 Contrast: Doing or Being?

DoingDoing BeingBeing

Ephesians 5:15-21 15So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. 16Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. 17Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Ephesians 5:15-21 15So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. 16Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. 17Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.

18Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead,

let the Holy Spirit fill and control you.

19Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among

yourselves, making music to the Lord in

your hearts. 20And you will always give thanks

for everything to God the Father in the name

of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21And further, you will submit to one

another out of reverence for Christ.

18Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead,

let the Holy Spirit fill and control you.

19Then you will sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among

yourselves, making music to the Lord in

your hearts. 20And you will always give thanks

for everything to God the Father in the name

of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21And further, you will submit to one

another out of reverence for Christ.

Sealed Filled

Marriage

Any thoughts?

Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other.  Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then.  ~Katherine Hepburn

Matrimony is a process by which a grocer acquired an account the florist had.  ~Francis Rodman

Marriage is a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters in prose.  ~Beverley Nichols

As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent.  ~Socrates

I figure that the degree of difficulty in combining two lives ranks somewhere between rerouting a hurricane and finding a parking place in downtown Manhattan.  ~Claire Cloninger,

Wedlock is a padlock.  ~John Ray

Marriage is a wonderful invention: then again, so is a bicycle repair kit.  ~Billy Connolly

Getting married is a lot like getting into a tub of hot water.  After you get used to it, it ain't so hot.  ~Minnie Pearl

Marriage

Is there any value in marriage today?

Christian Science Monitor - October, 2003

Step back from the headlines and a deep question emerges. What should marriage mean in the 21st century: Is it merely a contract between two people - a view that has gradually gained the upper hand in American culture - or does it hold deeper social and spiritual import?

"People are so hot and bothered about this issue," says David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values. "Perhaps this will help us as a society to ask what marriage is and why we value it in the first place."

One of the more radical proposals - de-legalizing marriage - comes from experts involved in domestic- partnership law. In their view, marriage no longer performs the same function as in the past.

The American Law Institute, for example, has proposed that people who live together for a certain time be treated, if they break up, the same as if they were married, even without their consent.

These strands of thinking represent large moves in a cultural shift that is already well under way. Changes in US law and culture have transformed it from an institution with multiple meanings to a personal relationship between two individuals. The idea that marriage exists for the purpose of procreation and for protecting offspring has lost traction in the culture. Short-term consumer values of the marketplace have invaded intimate relationships.

"The big shift in our lifetime has been the shift toward the very individualized, privatized conception of what marriage is," Mr. Blankenhorn says.

"The key question," adds Bill Doherty, a family therapist at the University of Minnesota, "is whether it is simply a contract between two people for mutual benefit as long as they choose to keep it, or whether we want to hold onto the notion that it's a covenant made with the promise and expectation of permanence."

The gay community is itself divided on marriage and its meaning. Some homosexuals are seeking lifelong, monogamous relationships and others a more "open marriage." Some have no interest in it all. But groups are committed to pursuing it on the basis of equal rights: Couples should get the same government and business benefits no matter how they're constituted.

Marriage

Is there any value in marriage today?

Ephesians 5:21-33

21And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. 23For a husband is the head of his wife

as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. 24As the church

submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything.

25And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up

his life for her 26to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's word. 27He did this

to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish.

Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is

actually loving himself when he loves his wife. 29No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just

as Christ cares for his body, which is the church. 30And we are his body.

31As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two

are united into one.” 32This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church

are one. 33So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect

her husband.

22-24 Wives22-24 Wives

25-30 Husband

s

25-30 Husband

s

31-33 Marriag

e

31-33 Marriag

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21Transiti

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21Transiti

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Intentional Comparison

Marriage and Christ’s sacrifice are brought into the same arena

Marriage Customs - “Follow the Rabbi.org”Marriage Customs - “Follow the Rabbi.org”

In ancient Israel, when it was time for a man and woman to marry, both fathers would negotiate the bride price to compensate the bride-to-be’s family. After exchanging a glass of wine to conceal the agreement, the couple was formally engaged. The BridegroomThe Bridegroom

The young man then told his fiancée, in effect, “I’m going home to my father’s

house to prepare a place for you. When I’m finished, I’ll return and take you to be my

wife.”

The son (typically in his mid-twenties) would then build a new house on to his

father’s existing one. As generations married and built their houses onto the

original one, they created a housing complex called an insula. Here, family

members ate, worked, and lived together. Everyone benefited as family members

shared their lives and values.

As the son worked on his new home, he eagerly awaited his father’s final approval.

Only the father could decide when the building was finally complete.

The BrideThe Bride

As her fiancé prepared a new home, the bride-to-be (typically fourteen years old) would remain at her parents’ home, preparing wedding clothes and learning homemaking skills.

During this time, she was known in the community as “one who had been bought with a price.” She might wait six months, nine months, or even longer for her fiancé to return; no one knew the exact time when he would come for her.

Eventually, she would hear the sound of the shofar as her bridegroom entered her village and announced that their wedding day had arrived. The wise bride was well-prepared for her groom’s arrival.

The SignificanceThe Significance

These insights help us to understand how wonderful

heaven and our eternal relationship with God will be.

When Jesus spoke of the kingdom of heaven, he compared himself

to a bridegroom who was engaged to be married.

“I love you as my bride,” he said, in effect, “so I’ll pay the bride

price. I’ll give up my life for you. I’ll go to my father’s house where there are many rooms to prepare

a place for you. One day I’ll return and take you to be with

me forever in heaven.”

Jesus’ second coming will be like the long-awaited arrival of a

bridegroom, returning for his beloved brides. And heaven will

be like a joyous wedding reception, celebrating the love

between a bride and groom.

“FollowtheRabbi.org”

Ephesians 5:21-33

21And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. 23For a husband is the head of his wife as

Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. 24As the church submits to

Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything.

25And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her 26to make her holy and clean, washed by

baptism and God's word. 27He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or

wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually

loving himself when he loves his wife. 29No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ

cares for his body, which is the church. 30And we are his body.

31As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32This is a great mystery, but it is

an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33So again I say, each man must love his wife as

he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

31-33 Marriag

e

31-33 Marriag

e

31As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Genesis 1:27

So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26

Then God said, “Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves.”

You are the Image

We are the Image

You two are the Image

31As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” 32This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Marriage

Is there any value in marriage today?

Marriage

How do you communicate the most significant

event in history … through your marriage?

21Transiti

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21Transiti

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Ephesians 5:21-33

21And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:21-33

21And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for

Christ.

Ephesians 5:21-33

21And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. 23For a husband is the head of his wife

as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. 24As the church

submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything.

25And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up

his life for her 26to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's word. 27He did this

to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish.

Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is

actually loving himself when he loves his wife. 29No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just

as Christ cares for his body, which is the church. 30And we are his body.

31As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two

are united into one.” 32This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church

are one. 33So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect

her husband.

22-24 Wives22-24 Wives

Ephesians 5:21-33

22You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. 23For a husband is

the head of his wife as Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be

her Savior. 24As the church submits to Christ, so you wives must submit to your

husbands in everything.

Ephesians 5:21-33

21And further, you will submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord. 23For a husband is the head of his wife as

Christ is the head of his body, the church; he gave his life to be her Savior. 24As the church submits to Christ,

so you wives must submit to your husbands in everything.

25And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life

for her 26to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's word. 27He did this to present her

to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy

and without fault.

28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually

loving himself when he loves his wife. 29No one hates his own body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ

cares for his body, which is the church. 30And we are his body.

31As the Scriptures say, "A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are

united into one.” 32This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. 33So again I say, each man must love his wife as he

loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

25-30 Husband

s

25-30 Husband

s

Ephesians 5:21-33

25And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the

church. He gave up his life for her 26to make her holy and clean, washed by

baptism and God's word. 27He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church

without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and

without fault.

28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man is actually loving himself when he loves his wife. 29No one hates his own

body but lovingly cares for it, just as Christ cares for his body, which is the church.

30And we are his body.

Submit to each other …

Love one another …

if you carry your spouse’s interest first in your mind, you will discover what it means to submit.

if you move love from just feeling to decision, you can then make your spouse better than they can be on their own … requires sacrifice.

Respect the Roles …

unless inspired, people will not willingly follow another person’s lead, nor will our spouse. Men, lead through servant leadership to pursue God with all your heart.